Lucy in the Sky (in Astoria) with Diamonds

...and "Seven Nation Army" and "Scarborough Faire" and "Norwegian Wood" and "Ride" and on and on...yeah, my friend David, a professional musician and very sweet fellah, welcomed me and A to jam with him. He plays guitar, bass, and is especially adept at the drums. There was even a cowbell. Alexander and I begged him to play Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, White Stripes, the Vines, and more. David accomodated all the way. He is too cool, too cool.

As some of you might already know, A is "in a band" but we have yet to actually "purchase the guitar." heh, heh.

David is very literary, as well. He ejects more high-level vocabulary that easily resonates in a conversation than I ever could. I showed off A's Beowulf book with marginated notes. "Oh, are you two studying it in the Old English?"

Erm...no? But we do look at the OE from time to time.

We talked (and salivated) about Emack & Bolio's, and laughed about the "Freedom Fries" sold nearby at the Astoria Pizza Palace. It's true. There really is a medieval outpost in New York. I purposely asked for "French Fries" and "mayonnaise to accompany the fries, please." They had no mayo. David has informed me that theres a Pommes Frites - a real Belgian fries store - on 2nd Avenue and St. Mark's Place in the East Village. They have various flavors of mayonnaise, including mayo a l'ail, curry, and mango chutney. I am so there.

The jam session lasted until 11:30 pm.

Of late, I have been kinder and gentler to my creative, musical side. Before I moved to New York, I belonged to a professional dance troupe. A few weeks ago, while I stood on the Times Square platform waiting for a Shuttle train, simultaneously contemplating my future (i.e., career), a busker played an acoustic version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." I swear everyone on the platform was singing the chorus. It was then I realized, on that platform, at 11 pm among strangers who were all either singing or humming, that I was okay with that tune. I was okay with the hippie-looking bloke who was singing it. While I have never been a hippie, that gentle world was more my world. No matter what, I would never be a cookie cutter attorney or business person, a cookie cutter parent, or a cookie cutter anything. Me wear pantyhose, sneakers, and a suit? Blech. Never.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

That is who I am.

Time to take off my flip flops. Goodnight.